MANILA, Philippines - Fourteen Filipinos made it to this year’s list of the world’s richest people, with business tycoon Henry Sy remaining the wealthiest person in the Philippines.
Sy owns the largest retailer SM Investments – which started as a footwear shop in Manila in 1958 – with a net worth of $12.7 billion in 2017. This was according to Forbes’ 2017 World Billionaires List, released yesterday on its website.
Forbes listed 2,043 billionaires with a collective net worth of $7.67 trillion, up from $6.48 trillion, with Microsoft founder Bill Gates as the richest man in the world for the fourth year in a row with $86 billion in his name.
Sy ranked 94th among the billionaires.
John Gokongwei Jr., the man behind diversified conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. and the second Filipino in the global list, placed 250th in the world ranking with a net worth of $5.8 billion.
JG Summit has interests in air transportation, banking, food, hotels, power, chemicals, real estate and telecommunications. Gokongwei’s family also owns Robinson Retail Holdings and Universal Robina Corp.
Next in the list is tycoon Lucio Tan and family who placed 501st, with a net worth amounting to $3.7 billion and whose business interests include Asia Brewery Inc., Tanduay Distillers Inc., Fortune Tobacco Corp. and Philippine Airlines, among others. Tan’s LT Group reported a 50 percent increase in net income in 2015, according to Forbes.
Filipino banker and magnate George Ty and family came in 544th place while port and gaming mogul Enrique Razon Jr. and Jollibee’s Tony Tan Caktiong were tied at 564th spot. Ty has a net worth of $3.5 billion while Razon and Tan Caktiong have $3.4-billion net worth.
Ty founded the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. with Bank of the Philippines and Philippine Savings Bank as its subsidiaries, while Razon owns the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Solaire Resort & Casino.
Joining the list of Forbes billionaires were David Consunji of DMCI ($3.1-billion net worth, ranked 630th) and Andrew Tan of Alliance Global ($2.5-billion net worth, ranked 814th ).
Robert Coyiuto Jr. of Prudential Guarantee & Assurance and Manuel Villar of Vista Land & Landscapes shared 1, 376th spot with $1.5-billion net worth.
San Miguel Corp.’s vice chairman, president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang and chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. were also included in the Forbes billionaires list with a net worth of $1.4 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. Ang was ranked 1, 468th among the wealthiest while Cojuangco was 1,678th.
The chairman of property developer Alphaland and former trade minister Roberto Ongpin made it to 1,795th spot in the world ranking with net worth of $1.1 billion.
Wrapping up the 14 wealthiest Filipinos is Edgar Sia, who owns a stake in DoubleDragon Properties, with a net worth $1 billion, taking the 1,940th place.
Sia dropped out of college to start fast-food label Mang Inasal, a stake of which he sold to Tan Caktiong in 2012.
Meanwhile, next to Gates, American business magnate Warren Buffett was worth $75.6 billion – up from $60.8 billion – reclaiming the number two spot on the list after a two-year hiatus.
“The biggest gainer on the 2017 list is Jeff Bezos (No. 3), whose fortune increased by $27.6 billion for a total net worth of $72.8 billion. This is Bezos’ first time in the top three,” Forbes said. Bezos is an American technology and retail entrepreneur.
Spanish clothing retailer Amancio Ortega, who is behind the Zara fashion chain, dropped to No. 4, with a net worth of $71.3 billion. In fifth spot on the global list is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, worth $56 billion.
According to Forbes, of the 2,043 billionaires, 1,371 were self-made billionaires while 238 inherited their wealth; another 434 inherited at least a portion but are still growing it.
As for US President Donald Trump, he ranked 544th on the list with a net worth of $3.5 billion.
“Midtown Manhattan real estate is down; therefore, so is Donald Trump’s fortune,” Forbes said.
In October 2016, at the time of the release of the 2016 Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans, Forbes valued Trump’s net worth at $3.7 billion.
According to Forbes, the list is a snapshot of wealth taken on Feb. 17 when stock prices and exchange rates were locked in from around the world.
“The list features individuals rather than multigenerational families who share large fortunes. In some cases, siblings and couples are listed together if the ownership breakdown among them isn’t clear; however, they still must be worth on average a minimum of $1 billion apiece to make the cut,” Forbes said on the methodology of the rankings.
The list is posted on www.forbes.com/billionaires.